Razer Naga Trinity review

Ask anyone who has spent a lot of time in an MMO what their mouse of choice is, and chances are they’ll tell you to pick up a Razer Naga, or a similar mouse. And 5 years after the release of the original Naga, Razer has iterated upon this now-classic design yet again with the Razer Naga Trinity.

Available for $99 (£99, AU$169), the Razer Naga Trinity might seem expensive to some, but the 5G mouse sensor and interchangeable side plates make this a very versatile gaming mouse.

Ultimately, if you play a lot of MMOs or MOBAs, you’re getting a lot of mouse for your money – especially if you switch between genres regularly.

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Design

As someone who has been using Naga-style mice for the last 5 years or so, and especially as someone who has been using a knockoff mouse for the last year, this writer was comforted and impressed by the way the Razer Naga Trinity not only fit comfortably in his hand, but the interchangeable side plates are a godsend. 

One of the biggest selling points of the Razer Naga Trinity over the previous Naga iterations is the fact that you can change the side plate depending on the game you’re about to play or the task you need to perform. Sure, there’s the classic Naga 12-button layout that every WoW veteran will fawn over, but you can switch that out for a more traditional 2-button layout for FPS gaming or general computing, or even a MOBA-themed layout with 7 buttons that will help you rule the jungle.

Even though it doesn’t feature the ability to fully customize the lighting on each zone of the mouse like some other high-end gaming mice, the Razer Naga Trinity does feature RGB lighting, and the little customization that it is capable of is intuitive enough through Razer’s Synapse software. Just don’t expect to be able to turn it into some multi-colored monstrosity if you’re into that kind of thing.

The only thing we found lacking about the Razer Naga Trinity’s design is the lack of any kind of customizable weight system. It does have a nice feel out of the box, and lands about in the middle of the road at 0.26 pounds (120g).  It’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but at its asking price, it’s a feature that’s sorely lacking.

These sideplates aren’t just useful however, they’re extremely easy to switch between as well. They’re magnetic and come off and attach with ease. And while you might think they’ll run the risk of falling off in the middle of your gaming session, we find that they stay in place and even in the middle of a hectic Mythic Dungeon in World of Warcraft. Our MMO keys don’t move around, and we even forgot that it was so precariously attached.

Performance

Aesthetics aside, the Razer Naga Trinity is a fantastic mouse, even if it is missing some quality of life features. The 5G optical sensor on top of the utility that the genre-specific side buttons offer is a great value proposition for anyone who is looking for an MMO mouse.

The 5G optical sensor on its own offers a stunning maximum sensitivity of 16,000 counts-per-inch (CPI) which means that you’ll never need to worry about looking down at your mouse angrily in the middle of a raid because your mouse isn’t performing up to snuff.

Although the side buttons are mechanical they sometimes fail to register button presses, due to their stiffness. However, that an issue you can get over you break the buttons in or get used to pressing them harder. 

The bigger issue with these side buttons, especially compared to some past iterations of the Naga, is that there aren’t any bumps that will help guide players in the middle of frantic combat, which can lead to casting the wrong spells at the wrong time.

However, the impressive 5G mouse sensor, when combined with the customizability of the Razer Naga Trinity is a great package, nitpicky complaints aside.

Verdict

The Razer Naga Trinity is a great choice for anyone who is a fan of MOBAs or MMOs, and can genuinely improve performance in these games. It’s kind of a niche mouse, especially at its asking price of $99 (£99, AU$169), but it’s well worth the price of admission if you’re the kind of gamer who can benefit from all the extra buttons. Bonus points if you like to jump between genres regularly.

When you take the Razer Naga Trinity as a full package, customizable side plates and all, it’s a unique and worthwhile addition to your gaming setup. We just wish that Razer added in some quality-of-life fixes like customizable weight and more distinct thumb buttons.